As the Omicron variant continues to spread, everyone is on the lookout for its symptoms. One expert shared a strange symptom that new moms should be aware of, which can be seen in their breast milk.
Breastfeeding is the cornerstone of the survival, nutrition, and development of an infant or a young child. So when a mother gets infected with coronavirus, some studies showed that they could also pass their antibodies to their babies through breast milk which improves their immunity.
Liquid Gold Shows Omicron Symptom New Moms Should Watch Out, Expert Reveals
Breast Milk of a Mother Infected With Omicron Turned Green
Australian parenting organization Tiny Hearts Education CEO Nikki Jurcutz posted a shocking photo on Instagram showing two bags of breast milk in different colors. One is white and the other is colored green because the latter is when the mother and her baby were infected with Omicron.
She explained that the green one might look disgusting, but the color change was induced by the antibodies present in the breast milk doing their thing, The Sun reported. During lactation, a mother's body consistently produces breast milk for their baby's ultimate health and recovery from illness.
Breast milk is often referred to as "liquid gold" because of the nutrients present in it that nourish babies. Ashmiry, a mother of two, originally shared the photo of two pouches of breast milk showing the change of color before and after contracting COVID-10. She believes that the shocking change of color is making extra nutrients to nourish her daughter. Ashmiry also admitted to drinking it when she was ill. She was not sure whether it helped her or not, but she felt better after.
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Why Does the Color of breast milk of COVID-infected Mothers Change?
Mallory Smothers explained in a Facebook post that when a baby nurses, it creates a vacuum that allows for the saliva of the infant to enter the mother's nipple. The mammary gland receptors interpret this as a backwash for bacteria and viruses, so the mother's body will change the milk's immunological composition to create customized antibodies for the baby's particular pathogens.
This could be backed by a 2012 study, titled "Changes in Immunomodulatory Constituents of Human Milk in Response to Active Infection in the Nursing Infant," published in the journal Nature's Pediatric Research, which showed that leukocytes in the breast milk of a mother increase when the baby is sick.
On the other hand, experts at the Australian Breastfeeding Association said that the green coloration of breast milk is not always a result of the antibodies from coronavirus. It could also be caused by the food and drink that the mother consumes, so it is better to check with a health expert.
Breastfeeding and COVID-19
The World Health Organization recommends mothers with suspected or confirmed COVID-19 to initiate or continue breastfeeding their infants. The UN health agency emphasized the benefits of breastfeeding during this time that outweigh the potential risks for transmission.
They added that the mother and child should remain together and practice skin-to-skin contact, such as kangaroo mother care, especially immediately after birth and breastfeeding, whether they are suspected or confirmed to have COVID-19 infection.
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